Five reasons why you need a brand audit

Dive into the first module of our new Slingshot Series…

Your brand is a precious asset, and it is vital that it remains relevent, compelling and appealing – never easy in a fast changing, competitive world.

An audit is an excellent opportunity for you to recognise the strengths and weaknesses within your brand, and to create new opportunities and pathways for improvement. By using an external independent partner as a fresh pair of eyes, you’ll be able to obtain an impartial and experienced assessment of where your brand sits within its operating landscape.

Check out some of the benefits you can expect to gain from a Quantock Brand Audit…

#1: OBTAIN CLARITY ON EXTERNAL PERCEPTIONS

An integral part of a brand audit is talking directly to customers, stakeholders and partners. By becoming more informed of how your brand is perceived externally, you’ll be able to determine exactly whether or not your brand is positioned in the right place. Crucially, an external audit can reveal which aspects of your brand and offering convey true tangible value and meet your customer’s needs, and which do not. This will in turn give insight into which areas need investment, focus and prioritisation – potentially saving you a lot of time and money.

#2: CONSOLIDATE YOUR IMAGE

A brand audit is also an opportunity to learn how to refine and consolidate your image, as well as learn how to update it to better reflect changing markets and business priorities. A brand’s position may change as it grows, and so it’s important to reflect on whether your brand’s external image is still appropriate in the present. Ask yourself – are your customers behaving in the same way that they did three years ago, or have they changed?

#3: UNDERSTAND THE COMPETITOR LANDSCAPE

Part of a professional brand audit focuses upon market competitors within your area/sector. You may think that your brand messaging is hitting the mark, but if one of your competitors is offering a more emotive narrative with more consistent messaging, who do you think your customers will flock to?

 

#4: DISCOVER NEW MARKETING ASSETS

Finally, an external brand audit can be a treasure-finding exercise, unearthing hidden gems of insight and value that internally you may have overlooked. In many cases, being too close to something can blind you, and it may be that by being immersed in your brand, you find it hard to identify ways in which your marketing can be revolutionised. Fresh thinking can breathe new life into a dusty corner of your brand identity, or re-imagine an old line of copy in a whole new light.

#5: GET READY FOR FUTURE GROWTH

A clear understanding of where your brand is now, will ultimately make it much easier to determine where your brand needs to go. Understanding this can place you in the optimum position for future growth, and ensures that you are operating on pure insight, rather than random guess work. This clarity can act as an internal catalyst, enabling you to galvanise your team to press ahead with one collective future vision.